Refrigerator latch



i, 3954 G. E. CURTISS, JR.. ETAL ,6 23

REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed Dec. 6, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l 3nnentors GEORGE E OUR 7763, JR.

3 Lou/s G BOBROWSK] Gttomegs 9% 1954 e. E. CURTISS, JR., ET AL 2,690,923

' REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed Dec. 6. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3nventors GEO}? G55 CZLQTZGS, JR. 8 Lows G. .5052 OWSK! i e Q f/M my Patented Oct. 5, 1954 REFRIGERATOR LATCH George E. Curtiss, In, and Louis G. Bobrowski, New Britain, Conn., assignors to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application December 6, 1950, Serial No. 199,475

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a door latch and more specifically to a refrigerator latch mechanism having a manually retractable bolt which will be retained in a retracted position by a toggle linkage which is particularly adapted to shift the bolt to closed or latching position when engaged by a strike or keeper during closing of the door.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved latch particularly adapted for cabinet and refrigerator installations.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved latch mechanism which can be manually shifted to open position and which will automatically shift to latched position upon closing the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latch mechanism manually operable to the open position and automatically operable to the closed position to firmly engage a keeper element upon closing the door, whether the door is gently or firmly closed, and which will effect locking engagement should the door be slammed closed and thereby prevent rebounding of the door.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a latch mechanism incorporating the features of the present invention, showing the latch mechanism as associated with a refrigerator door and cabinet, a fragment of which is illustrated in cross section.

Figure 2 is a rear view of the latch mechanism shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l but shows the latch mechanism partially in section as secured to the door fragment when the latch bolt is in the open or retracted. position.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the latch mechanism taken along the line 44 of Figure 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

For convenience of illustration, in the accompanying drawings the latch mechanism is indicated generally by the reference numeral and the latch mechanism is shown as adapted for a refrigerator door II.

The refrigerator door I l is of double wall panel construction having an outer wall 12 spaced from an inner wall l3 which is hinged to the refrigerator cabinet so that the door will close against the left hand vertical panel 14 of the cabinet. The door ll carries a rubber-like seal or molding it? about the periphery of its closing face so that the door opening of the cabinet will be sealed when the door H is closed.

The area between the outer and inner walls E 2 and [3 of the door H provides ample space for mounting the latch mechanism It which is secured to the inner surface of the outer wall l2 by means of a vertically arranged mounting bracket IS. The mounting bracket Hi supports a latch frame ll which comprises a unitary member having upper and lower frame plates i8 and I9, respectively, which journal most of the moving parts of the latch mechanism ID. The plates I8 and I9 are horizontally disposed in spaced relation to each other and each has a vertically struck deflected ear 20 which carry mounting bosses 2|. The cars 20 engage an inwardly turned end section 23 on the outer wall 12 and are secured thereto by rivets, or the like, attached through the bosses 2|.

As shown in Figure 2, the mounting bracket i6 has a generally rectangular aperture 24 which is in register with a similar aperture in the outer wall I2 of the door H to receive a handle mount indicated generally by the reference numeral 25. The mount 25 supports the vertically arranged handle grip 26 which shifts an actuating plunger 27 disposed in the mount 25. The handle mechanism forms no part of the present invention and it is, therefore, immaterial whether the handle is of the type that is rotated or of the push-pull type, so long as the plunger 27 is shifted inwardly when the handle mechanism is operated for the purpose of unlatching the door II from the cabinet panel Hi.

When the actuating plunger 21 is advanced it strikes a buttress wall 28 vertically supported by a conversion link 29. The conversion link 29 comprises upper and lower bell crank plates 30 and 3| which are rotatably mounted in horizontally spaced parallel relation on a vertical pivot pin 32 journaled in spaced horizontal ears 33 struck from the mounting bracket 16. The conversion link, as its name would imply, converts the rectilinear thrust of the actuating plunger 21 into curvilinear motion for operating the other linkages of the latch mechanism l0 to be described.

The upper and lower plates 30 and 3| of the conversion link 29 have slots 34 for journaling a pivot pin 35 which is carried by the conversion link 29 at the end of the link opposite the buttress wall 28. As the conversion link 29 is pivoted about the pin 32, the pivot pin 35 describes a generally arcuate path. The pin 35 is embraced intermediate the upper and lower plates and 3! by one end of a bell crank link 36 formed by upper and lower plates 3? and 38 horizontally disposed in substantially parallel relation to each other. The plates 3'! and 38 rotate about a vertically arranged pivot pin 39 journaled in the upper and lower frame plates 18 and 9.

The bell crank link has three lever arms, one of which has been described as embracing the pin 35 carried by the conversion link Of the two remaining lever arms in the bell crank link 36, one journals a vertically disposed pin as within slots M in the upper and lower plates 3'5 and 38. The pin is embraced intermediate the plates 3'! and 38 by one end of a spring guide which will be described in detail later. The remaining lever arm of the bell crank link 36 journals a third vertically disposed pin 43 in the upper and lower plates 31 and 38. The pin is engaged intermediate the plates 3'! and 33 in arcuate slots M5 in upper and lower plates 25 and d6 of a guide link l! which is rotatably mounted between the upper and lower frame plates i8 and [9 by means of a vertically disposed pivot pin it.

The pin 63 is also journaled by a horizontally disposed bolt blade 58 intermediate the plates and 46. The bell crank link 36 rotates in a clockwise direction about the pivot pin 39 when urged by the conversion link 29 in response to the inward thrust of the actuating plunger ill. The clockwise movement of the bell crank link 36 carries the pin 43 in a clockwise moving arcuate path to shift the bolt blade 59 to the right as viewed in Figures 1 and 3. It is one function of the guide link 4'! to guide the latch blade 59 in its movement in a gentle arcuate path to the right and a further guide for the bolt blade 58 is provided by a slot 5i in the link 5!! which surrounds a guide pin 52 secured in the upper and lower frame plates l8 and !9.

In performing its function, the guide link rotates about the pin A8 in a counterclockwise direction in guiding the bolt blade 56 to the right and the arcuateslot 24 in the link ll cooperates with a rectilinear slot (is in the bell crank to determine the arcuate path of the blade in cooperation with the pin 52 and the slot in the blade. The guide link 4'! also prevents inadvertent unlatching of the bolt in that it acts normal to the latching surface 56a of the bolt when latched. It will be seen, in comparing the position of the blade 59 in Figures 1 and 3, that although the blade is shifted a considerable distance to the right in the unlatching movement, it is also shifted upwardly.

The previously mentioned spring guide 3?. is embraced by a' coil spring 55 disposed between a vertical pin 58, carried by the upper and lower frame plates l8 and i9, and a plate 57, carried by the spring guide in a position normal thereto. The spring guide I32 has a bifurcated end section 58 which slidably engages the pin 55 so that new ing of the spring 55 will be caused when the spring guide is moved toward or away from the pin 55. Such movements in the spring guide 62 are caused by rotation of the bell crank about its pivot pin 39. During clockwise or un latching movement of the bell crank 35, the pin 4d describes an are directed in a clockwise direction and carries the spring guide The spring guide 52 and the arm of the bell crank 3' 3 carrying the pin 40 provides a toggle mechanism operable between the pins 39 and 56 having a fulcrum at the axis of pin 40. The toggle is in dead center condition when the pins 56, 4D and 39 are aligned. At dead center, the spring guide 42 will be, shifted to the left to the greatest extent and the spring will be under the greatest compression. The spring 55 will tend to buckle the aforedescribed toggle mechanism about the fulcrum pin 40; as soon as the pin 40 is shifted from dead center. Thus, it will be seen that if the pin 40 lies below dead center the spring 55 will urge the latch mechanism [0 to the latched position of the blade 50 by counterclockwise rotation of the bell crank 36 and. if the pin it is above dead center the spring 55 will urge the mechanism H] to the unlatched position by clockwise rotation of the bell crank.

Thus it will be seen that a latch bolt such as the bolt 50 can be utilized without being encumbered by a spring. The bolt is nonetheless spring urged through a toggle mechanism.

In accordance with the present invention a strike or keeper is afiixed to the cabinet panel i i and projects toward the door H. The keeper is L-shaped and carries a roller 8| at the end of the short leg of the L. When the door ii is closed against the panel M the keeper 53 projects into the space between the door walls l2 and it through an aperture 62 in the rear wall 13. In the latched condition of the mechanism, as shown in Figure 1, the bolt blade 53 engages the keeper roller (5! to retain the door H in closed relation with the panel Hi. In the unlatched condition of the mechanism, as shown in Figure 3, the bolt blade is shifted to the right so that it cannot engage the keeper roller 3i and the latch mechanism is in this position when the door 4 l is open.

In closing the door ll against the panel It, the door will be swung toward the panel so that the keeper 60 will be thrust inside the door walls and the roller 6| will abut a pair of cars 63 struck from the spring plate 51.

It will be noted that the spring plate 51 is adjacent the fulcrum pin 40 and that thrust of the strike or keeper 68 against the spring plate 51 will shift the fulcrum pin 40 to a point below dead center as viewed in Figures 1 and 3. The spring 55 will urge a further shift in the toggle and cause counterclockwise rotation of the bell crank 35 to shift the bolt blade 50 to the left to keeper engaging position.

As previously mentioned, the spring 55 will urge the toggle to either side of dead center position and it has been found desirable to limit the clockwise movement of the bell crank 30 so that the strike 60 will not have to shift the toggle elements a relatively great distance to reach dead center condition and beyond in the latching operation. Accordingly in the present mechanism a cam roller 65 is disposed between the upper and lower bell crank plates 3? and 38 on a vertical axis defined by a pin 65 journaled in the plates 31 and 38. The roller 65 engages a cam edge 61 on the end of the spring guide opposite the bifurcated section 68 when the spring guide approaches dead center condition of the toggle during clockwise rotation of the bell crank 38. The cam surface Bl has a projecting edge 68 which nests the roller 55 when the mechanism is shifted to a position slightly beyond center line condition in the clockwise movement of the bell crank 36. The nesting of the roller 65 in the cam projection 68 prevents further clockwise movement of the bell crank 36 and further off-center movement of the toggle. Thus, when the door ii is closed the strike 65 must shift the toggle linkage only a relatively short distance to the on-center condition and beyond. Shifting of the toggle in the aforedescribed manner is unopposed by the spring 55 because the engagement of cam 5'! and roller 65 varies the effective length of the toggle link which comprises one arm of the bell crank 36. It will be seen that the effective length of the second toggle link which comprises the spring guide &2 will not vary because the pin 40 will be permitted to shift within the slot ll in the bell crank 35. This means that the latch mechanism can be shifted to the latched condition even when the door is gently closed, insofar as little force is needed to cause the strike 60 to shift the toggle beyond dead center where the spring 55 will take control of the further latching movement. It should also be noted that if the door is forcibly closed or slammed the latching will occur in the same manner and the door Will not rebound, because at the time the strike has shifted the toggle beyond dead center, the latch bolt 56 has been shifted to the left a sufficient distance to engage the keeper roller Bl.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim as our invention:

1. A refrigerator latch comprising a frame, a bolt having adjacent one end a forwardly engaging latching surface adapted to cooperate with the keeper, means between the frame and the other end of said bolt for supporting the bolt for rocking and longitudinal movements, a link pivoted to the frame at a pivot disposed at one side of the bolt and pivotally engaged with the bolt between the ends of said bolt and disposed at approximately a right angle to said latch engaging surface when the bolt is in latching position, a lever pivotally secured to said frame on a pivot disposed at the opposite side of the bolt and having an arm pivotally connected to the bolt intermediate the ends of the bolt, said lever having a second arm disposed at an angle to the first arm comprising a first toggle link, a second toggle link pivoted at one end to said first toggle link, means on said frame for pivotally and slidably supporting the other end of said second toggle link, said first and second toggle links forming a toggle, and a spring urging said toggle beyond one off-center position to maintain the bolt in latching position and for holding the toggle in another off-center position when the bolt is retracted.

2. A refrigerator latch comprising a frame, a bolt having adjacent one end a forwardly engaging latching surface adapted to engage a stationary keeper, means secured by the frame for supporting one end of said bolt for rocking and longitudinal movements, a link pivoted to the frame at a pivot disposed at one side of the bolt, means forming an engagement between said link and the bolt between the ends of said bolt so as to cause pivotal movement of said link relative to said bolt, said link being disposed at approximately a right angle to said latch engaging surface when the bolt is in latching position, a lever pivotally secured to said frame for movement about a pivot disposed at the opposite side of the bolt and having an arm pivotally connected to the bolt intermediate the ends of the bolt, said lever having a second arm disposed at an angle to the first arm and comprising a first toggle link, a second toggle link pivotally and slidably connected at one end to the frame and pivotally connected at the other end to the first toggle link, said first and second toggle links forming a toggle extending substantially at right angles to the keeper when the bolt is in unlatched position and engageable with the keeper to be actuated thereby in the direction of offcenter bolt latching position upon closing movement of the door manually operable means for shifting said toggle to an off-center position to retract the bolt and a spring acting on said tog gle to maintain said bolt in latching position and for maintaining said toggle in off-center position when the bolt is retracted.

3. A refrigerator latch comprising a frame, a bolt having adjacent one end a forwardly engaging latching surface adapted to engage a stationary keeper, means between the frame and the other end of said bolt for supporting the bolt for rocking and longitudinal movements, a link pivoted to the frame at a pivot disposed at one side the bolt and pivotally engaged with the bolt between the ends of said bolt and disposed at approximately a right angle to said latch engaging surface when the bolt is in latching position, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame about a pivot disposed at the opposite side of the bolt and having an arm pivotally connected to the bolt intermediate the ends of the bolt, said lever having a second arm disposed at an angle to the first arm and comprising a first toggle link, a second toggle link pivotally and slidably connected at one end to the frame and pivotally connected at the other end to the first toggle link, said first and second toggle links forming a toggle, manually operable means for shifting said toggle to one off-center position and thereby cause retracting movement of the bolt, and a spring urging said second toggle link toward said first toggle link for holding the toggle in said off-center position, said toggle in said one off-center position being disposed substantially at right angles to the keeper and engageable with the keeper to be actuated thereby upon closing movement of the door to another offcenter position causing latching movement of the bolt, said spring being operable to further the latching movement of the bolt and to maintain the same in latching position.

l. A refrigerator latch comprising a frame, a bolt having adjacent one end a forwardly engaging latching surface adapted to engage a stationary keeper, means between the frame and the other end of said bolt for supporting the bolt for rocking and longitudinal movements, a link pivoted to the frame at a pivot disposed at one side of the bolt and pivotally engaged with the bolt between the ends of said bolt and disposed at approximately a right angle to said latch engaging surface when the bolt is in latching position, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame about a pivot disposed at the opposite side of the bolt and having an arm pivotally connected to the bolt intermediate the ends of the bolt, said lever having a second arm disposed at an angle to the first arm comprising a first toggle link, a second toggle link pivotally and slidably connected at one end to the frame and pivotally connected at the other end to said first toggle link, manually operable means for shifting said toggle to one off-center position and thereby cause retracting movement of the bolt, means for limiting movement of said toggle in the bolt retracting direction, said toggle in bolt retracting position being positioned at approximately a right angle to the keeper to be actuated thereby to ofi-center bolt latching direction upon closing movement of the door, and a spring urging said second toggle link toward said first toggle link for holding the toggle against the limiting means when the latch is in retracted position and for urging the toggle in further off-center bolt latching direction and for maintaining the same in latching position.

5. In a refrigerator latch having a frame and a latch bolt shiftably supported by the frame, a lever pivotally mounted on the frame and connected to the latch bolt intermediate the ends of the bolt, said lever having an arm comprising a first toggle link, a second toggle link pivotally and slidably connected at one end to the frame and pivotally and slidably connected at the other end to the first toggle link to form a toggle therewith in which the second toggle link is mounted for limited endwise movement with respect to the first toggle link when the toggle is in substantially on-center position, a spring carried by said second toggle link and biasing the same toward the first toggle link thereby urging the toggle toward off-center position to shift the latch bolt to latching position and toward an other off-center position to releasably maintain the latch bolt in retracted position, manually operable actuating means for shifting said toggle to the retracted position, and means comprising a follower on said first toggle link and a cam on said second toggle link cooperating therewith to move the second toggle link endwise in a direction away from the first toggle link during movements of the toggle from on-center position to said other off-center position and permitting the second toggle link to return in a direction toward the first toggle link during return movement of the toggle to on-center position, whereby the effective length of the second toggle link is maintained substantially constant during movement of the toggle from said other offcenter position to on-center position.

6. A refrigerator latch for use in a swinging door comprising a frame, a bolt having adjacent one end a forwardly engaging latch surface adapted to engage a stationary keeper, means between the frame and the other end of said bolt for supporting the bolt for rocking and longitudinal movements, a link pivoted to the frame at a pivot disposed at one side of the bolt between the ends of said bolt, said link being engageable with said bolt for pivotal movement relative thereto and being disposed at approximately a right angle to said latch engaging surface when the bolt is in latched position, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame about a pivot disposed at the opposite side of the bolt and having an arm pivotally and slidably connected to the bolt intermediate the ends of the bolt, said lever having a second arm disposed at an angle to the first arm and comprising a first toggle link, a second toggle link pivotally and slidably connected at one end to the frame and pivotally and slidably connected at the other end to said first toggle link to form a toggle therewith in which the second toggle link is mounted for limited endwise movement with respect to the first toggle link when the toggle is in substantially oncenter position, a spring carried by said second toggle link and biasing the same toward the first toggle link thereby urging the toggle toward one off-center position to shift the bolt to latching position and toward the other ofi-centcr position to releasably maintain the bolt in retracted position, manually operable actuating means for shifting said toggle to said other position, said toggle in said other position being positioned substantially at right angles to the keeper and engageable with the keeper to be actuated thereby to the off-center bolt latching position upon closing movement of the door, and means comprising a cam on said second toggle link and a follower on said first toggle link for moving the second toggle link endwise in a direction away from the first toggle link during movements of the toggle from on-center position to said other off-center position and permitting the second toggle link to return in a direction toward the first toggle link during return movement of the toggle to on-center position, whereby the effective length of the second toggle link is maintained substantially constant during movement of the toggle from said other off-center position to on-center position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,136,662 Anderson Nov. 15, 1938 2,181,493 Nave Nov. 28, 1939 2,342,250 Burke Feb. 22, 1944 2,451,380 Curtiss Oct. 12, 1948 2,558,233 Burke June 26, 1951 2,561,201 Hogg July 17, 1951 

